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Woman gives birth to octuplets in US

Updated January 28, 2009 12:00 AM
BELLFLOWER, California A woman gave birth Monday to eight babies, only the second time in history
octuplets have survived more than a few hours, doctors said. The mother gave birth to six boys and two
girls weighing between 1 pound, 8 ounces, and 3 pounds, 4 ounces, doctors at Kaiser Permanente
Bellflower Medical Center said. The hospital had scheduled a Caesarean section for seven babies, but
doctors were surprised when an eighth came out at 10:48 a.m.
Doctors said the babies were born nine weeks premature but are in stable condition. Two newborns were
placed on ventilators and a third needs oxygen. Hospital officials would not release any information about
the mother, including her name, condition or whether she used fertility drugs. They did, however, say she
planned to breast feed all of them.
Shes a very strong woman, so she probably will be able to handle all eight babies, said Dr. Mandhir
Gupta, a neo-natologist who cared for the infants.
The mother checked into the hospital in her 23rd week of pregnancy and gave birth seven weeks later.
All eight babies will probably remain in the hospital for at least two months and the mother should be
released in a week, Maples said. The worlds first live octuplets were born in March 1967 in Mexico City,
but all the babies died within 14 hours, according to Encyclopedia Britanica. The United States first live
octuplets were born in Houston in December 1998. They were three months premature and their weights
at birth ranged from 11 ounces to 1 pound, 11 ounces. The tiniest infant died of heart and lung failure a
week after being born. The surviving siblings girls Ebuka, Gorom, Chidi, Chima and Echerem, and
their brothers Ikem and Jioke turned 10 in December. Their mother and father, Nkem Chukwu and
Lyke Louis Udobi, said they are astonished and grateful their children have grown up to be healthy and
active. Chukwu is even happier to hear another mother successfully accomplished the same feat.
Forty-six hospital staff and four delivery rooms were used for the latest octuplets births. After one baby
was born, staff rushed the newborn into another room and waited for the next, the hospital said. But
despite weeks of preparation, doctors did not expect the eighth child. It is quite easy to miss a baby
when youre anticipating seven babies, said Dr. Harold Henry, chief of maternal and fetal medicine at the
hospital. Ultrasound doesnt show you everything.
Doctors said they repeatedly conducted practice sessions on the deliveries and were well prepared.
Gupta said the woman was given spinal anesthesia and could hear the babies as they came out.
Dr. Richard Paulson, director of the fertility program at the University of Southern California, said
octuplets born premature could face serious health risks, including breathing problems and neurological
damage. The mother also has an increased risk of hemorrhage, Paulson said. Its a risky decision to try
to have all eight babies, said Paulson, who had no role in the delivery. I would not recommend it under
any circumstances, but I respect a parents decision.
For people who use fertility drugs, the vast majority of births 80 percent are single babies. Among
multiple births, the most common are twins, Paulson said. Paulson said the latest births likely resulted
from the use of fertility drugs and not in vitro fertilization.
When you hear about someone having octuplets, its almost always the case that they took fertility
medications and not IVF, he said.
Its easier to control the number of births through in vitro fertilization, which involves combining egg and
sperm in a lab dish and transferring the embryo into the uterus. Fertility drugs induce or enhance
ovulation and couples often opt for selective reduction, in which women carrying multiple fetuses reduce

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the number of viable fetuses to two. The Bellflower medical center is about 17 miles southeast of Los
Angeles. AP
Reference: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=435331&publicationSubCategoryId=68
On a piece of paper, answer the following guide questions.
1. In the perspective of the sector assigned to your group.
a. Identify the problem/s that need/s to be solved in the article.
b. Propose a solution to the problem/s identified.
c. What are the projected results to the solution proposed?
2. As a Filipino student, how can you help solve the problem?

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